We seem to be witnessing, the President of the United States, demonstrate, the validity, of the song lyrics, You only hurt the one you love! While, his core supporters/ political base, seem to be, as loyal, as any voters, in recent memory, often, willing to, forgive, and forget, regardless of the impact, the rest of the nation (apparently, far more than half), seem to recognize, the combination, of inconsistencies, less – than – mediocre – planning/ preparation, polarizing/ divisive rhetoric, and apparent, self – serving, personal/ political agenda, and/ or, self – interest, endangers the greater good, both, in the present, as well as into the future! With that in mind, this article will attempt to, briefly, consider, examine, review, and discuss, 5 times, Trump’s actions/ behaviors/ rhetoric, have harmed citizens, including his core supporters.
1. Trade wars/ tariffs: We’ve often witnessed, a significant difference, between, President Trump’s rhetoric/ bravado, and the impact, of his actions/ ideas! While, nearly, all economic experts, warned, of the dangers, short – term, as well as in the longer period, of imposing tariffs, this President has attempted to use, a combination, of threats, of these, as well as, actually, imposing them, as, an economic, political, and foreign relations, tool! Although, he claims, for example, China pays these tariffs, the reality is, they are passed – down, to the consumer, in most cases, creating higher retail costs, etc. In addition, his rejection of American treaties/ pacts, such as NAFTA, has certainly, not, benefited, most, typical Americans!
2. Reopening American economy: In an apparent attempt, to appeal, to his perceived, preferences, of his core supporters, he repeatedly, and adamantly, articulated a message, calling for a reopening of businesses, in this nation, by a specific date, and, sooner, rather than later! We have, unfortunately, witnessed, those states, who, seemed to blindly, support and follow his requests, rather than, using more common sense, and proceeding, following, public health, science, and metrics/ data, have seen, a dire emergence, of this horrific pandemic!
3. Calling pandemic a hoax, and not addressing it, sooner: One can’t be certain, why President Trump, either, ignored, or failed to pay significant, sufficient attention, sooner, to the public health implications of the pandemic, but, largely, due to this delay, the United States, with about 4% of the world’s population, has, suffered, with, about one – quarter, of the infections, and deaths! When, he called it, a hoax, or minimized, the potential ramifications/ impacts, his supporters, felt enabled, to ignore, smart, common sense, public health actions, such as wearing a mask, and social distancing, and, created, far more spread of the virus, than we, otherwise, would!
4. Demand to reopen schools: Similarly, demanding schools, reopen, this Fall, for in – person, teaching, and using, foreign nations, as an example, to follow, ignores, the significant factor, which is, public health experts, warn, it requires a low infection rate, in a specific region, in order to reopen, safely, and responsibly! Regardless of, one’s political affiliation/ preferences, children, must be protected. As, New York’s Governor Cuomo, stated, Kids Aren’t Guinea Pigs!
5. Smoke – and – mirrors, economic plan: Although, Mr. Trump, often, points to what he refers to, as a strong economy, but, who, are the real winners, of his approach? Remember, the average, core supporter, is middle/ working – class, and, do not benefit, by equating the performance, of the stock exchange, with economically, benefiting, them! To some degree, many have, been, somewhat, misled, by focusing on statistics, such as the Gross Domestic Product, the Dow Jones Indexes, and jobless/ unemployment numbers. The tax reform, passed in late 2017, primarily, assisted the wealthiest, instead of the middle class, while, being a major factor, in terms of creating a trillion dollar deficit. When, that deficit, creates, that much money, into the economy, we end up, witnessing, smoke – and – mirrors, rather than a sustainable, strong economy!
Pete Townsend, stated, We won’t be fooled again, yet, we continue witnessing, far too many, blindly, believing, and following, the leadership, of someone, articulating, a message, which inspires, motivates, and they believe, helps/ benefits, them!
